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Thursday, July 19, 2012

What Does Fiber Taste Like?

Last night I had the lucky opportunity to go to a "fiber tasting" at my LYS. The event featured a chance to sample six different fiber blends from Yarn Hollow and learn about the best ways to spin those different blends. Here's what my "plate" looked like before I dug in:

The featured blends were merino/bamboo/nylon, superwash merino/tencel, merino/alpaca/silk, BFL/silk, merino/angora/silk, and superwash merino/cashmere/nylon. Because it was a rainy, humid day, I decided it was easier to bring my spindle than a wheel, so I did not spin up a ton, but I was able to get in about 15 minutes of spinning on each blend.

The angora was completely new to me; I've never had much of a desire to spin angora, and I've been wary of bringing any into the house because the Mister is allergic to cats and I've heard that many people who are allergic to cats are also allergic to rabbits. I must admit that I think that blend was my least favorite of the night, though that's all relative; I still enjoyed it, just not as much as I enjoyed some of the other samples.

My favorite blend was the merino/alpaca/silk. Between the alpaca and the silk, it was so easy to draft that spinning was practically effortless. The cashmere blend was a close second, and I was sorry that there wasn't any fiber in this blend available to buy in the cash-and-carry at the end of the event. I'm hoping that my LYS will stock some in the future, because I think it would make some great socks!

I did leave with one 4 oz. braid of my favorite blend, in a colorway called Red Rocks and Spruce. I think I might spin this all on one bobbin and chain ply to preserve the colors. I consider it a personal triumph that I left the store with only that one bit of fiber -- there were so many gorgeous colors and fibers available that I could have easily replace all the stash I've busted during the Tour de Fleece!

Speaking of the Tour, it ends this Sunday, and it looks like I will succeed in getting one more yarn done (unless I get in another quickie in the interim). I'm on my third and final bobbin of Crown Mountain Farms Cheviot, which I hope to finish tonight and ply over the weekend. I need to find a yellow shirt to wear on Sunday!